Security Planning for the 2004 Democratic National Convention

01/10/2014

Case Study II: Security Planning for the 2004 Democratic National Convention

Contents

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Case Summary....................................................................................................................................... 2 Organizational Dynamics ...................................................................................................................... 2 Role Perception and Attribution ........................................................................................................... 3 Management Systems and Culture ....................................................................................................... 4 Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................................... 5

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01/10/2014

1. Case Summary

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) of 2004 was held at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA. The city of Boston had aggressively campaigned for the location of the DNC. Governor Romney petitioned for the event to be classified as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and this request was granted. This designation meant the involvement of three organizations; the Secret Service, the FBI, and FEMA. Scott Sheafe from the Secret Service was put in charge of organizing the convention, and especially important was organizing the security of the event in light of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center (recall the planes originated in Boston). Based on the Secret Service’s protocol for organizing an NSSE, Sheafe created a steering committee, comprising 17 subcommittees, focusing on “venues, transportation and traffic, intelligence and counter-terrorism, and consequence management” (p. 7). Sheafe appeared to be a good leader, forging relationships with the Boston Police Department’s Superintendent Robert Dunford and managing disagreements at the subcommittee level so steering committee...